Chapelwaite

After seeing the first 4 episodes, I am happy to report that "Chapelwaite" is one of the most satisfying gothic horror series I have seen in some time.

I was worried about how Emily Hampshire would make the transition from comedy to drama after "Schitt's Creek," but she is truly excellent. From her narration monologues, with just the right amount of breathiness, to her scenes with the impressive Adrian Brody, Hampshire has been a joy to watch. Even her occasionally awkward body language is perfectly suited to her character.

Not just the 2 stars, but the entire cast, are extremely strong. Not a weak link in the bunch.

I especially like the consistent somber, and grim, tone throughout, and the way "Chapelwaite" languishes over these brooding moments to capture the mood. For those who like a ton of gore and a rapid pace, this may not be for you. However, there are enough scary moments to keep you locked in.

I also think that it is a plus that this series tries to be socially conscious, as well. Let's face it, "The Crucible" was an attempt to equate the Salem witch trials to McCarthyism, so it is not out of place to include social commentary in the story-telling. And no, they don't hit you over the head with it, either. Where it comes into play, it makes sense.

Bottom line....this is a fun series for anyone who liked to settle in with a good old-fashioned horror tale. While I read "Salem's Lot," (one of my favorite King works), I had never read the "Jerusalem Lot" short story that this was based upon. So I do not have to spend any of my critique worrying about how it may have deviated from the script. I am just judging it on its own terms.

For anyone who has ever curled up with a good scary, gothic horror tale, punctuated by vampires, specters, and a touch of madness, you are in for a treat.

If you're looking for classic horror and you're not a fan of scare scenes like me, you can give this one a try. I like Adrian Brody, haven't watched him in a long while and I enjoyed it. A good actor is a good actor! The show has this beautiful gothic atmosphere. The story is cliché and could definitely be much better, and the pace is pretty slow but I did watch the whole ten episodes in the end. I missed this kind of show, got tired of horror that tries to shake you and get you almost sick. There are still many gore scenes in this, beware, but nothing that made me want to turn my screen off. Halfway into the show, there's a revelation which I didn't expect but liked, and the ending was pretty good and interesting to me, part of it reminded me of an older show that I liked. Maybe better casting for some of the characters could have been done but it was still good.

When I stumbled upon the 2021 TV series "Chapelwaite", I must admit that I was immediately interested in watching it. Why? Well, I read that it was based on Stephen King's "Jerusalem's Lot" and also it had Adrien Brody on the cast list.

I have to admit that I had actually not heard about the show prior to getting to sitting down to watch it. But let me just be the first to say that I am very happy that I did sit down to watch it, because "Chapelwaite" turned out to be really enjoyable and entertaining.

The storyline is certainly based on Stephen King's "Jerusalem's Lot", but at the same time creators Jason Filardi and Peter Filardi managed to make "Chapelwaite" so much more. If you think "Jerusalem's Lot" and add a good sense of gothic atmosphere and Lovecraftian influence, then you have the end result that is "Chapelwaite", and believe me, it works. The storyline is well-written and just as nicely brought to life on the screen.

"Chapelwaite" has a great ensemble of characters that are portrayed well nicely by a good group of actors and actresses. And the fact that there is paid a good amount of detail and attention ot the backstories and motivation of the characters really adds to the overall feel of "Chapelwaite".

It should be said that Adrien Brody is phenomenally cast for the role of Captain Charles Boone, and he is joined by the likes of Jennifer Ens, Ian Ho, Sirena Gulamgaus, Emily Hampshire, Gord Rand Hugh Thompson, Julian Richings and Steven McCarthy. But lo and behold actor Christopher Heyerdahl playing the role of Jakub. Wow, talk about an impressive character and an equally impressive performance of said character.

Visually then "Chapelwaite" is rather impressive. The atmosphere throughout the entire series is just spot on, and definitely adds a great element to the presentation of the show. And the appearance of the vampires is just fantastic and definitely is in tune with "Jerusalem's Lot".

If you enjoyed "Jerusalem's Lot" and maybe have an interest in Lovecraftian things, then you should definitely check out "Chapelwaite".

My rating of "Chapelwaite" lands on a well-deserved nine out of ten stars.

There's plenty said already about this series' negative and positive aspects so rather than repeating them for the sake of sharing my own views, I'll simply add that there's barely enough story to cover 6 episodes, let alone 10.

There's large sections of unnecessary dialogue and the pacing is just far too slow. It would be fine if there was enough plot going on but there isn't. I think it was a big mistake to make this story 10 episodes. It really feels as though there was a management decision to make it a 10 parter when there simply wasn't enough story there.

Episode 7 for example contained 20 minutes of completely unnecessary dialogue before anything actually occurred. The rest of the episode was good. It was a chore to sit through at times. It does make one un-invest in the story and characters. Just get on with it. It's all building to a rather predictable confrontation and yet we must wait so long for it.

Personally, I felt that the first two episodes were the best when we didn't quite know what was going on. Once the reality of the story is uncovered it lost much of its intrigue as this has been done many times before, going back to King's original Salem's Lot.

Well made but is visually consistently gloomy to the point of being silly.

Adrien Brody's confident but one note performance was not enough to hinge the series on. There's really no other characters of note to care for unfortunately.

Worth watching and might feel fresh if you haven't seen a lot of films of this type before but its certainly nothing new.

Midnight Mass, which was released at approximately the same time and covered some similar ground and is also slow and wordy in parts, is far more interesting, with less episodes and is better made. Recommend that one over this.

Failing that, check out some classics like Near Dark, Interview with the Vampire, Dracula from 1992 or even Fright Night from the mid 80s, which is a lot of fun. No need to watch 10 episodes when you can watch several films and be hugely entertained.

At least they didn't freaking sparkle.

Finally someone who understands the spirit of the Stephen King books has arrived. I was very happy when I saw the name Adrien Brody as an actor in this project. My impatience increased when I found out that he was the producer. The quality of Adrien Brody shows itself in the first two episodes.